Building system

ABSTRACT

A building system has interlocking frame members which interengage to form a rectilinear frame. To prevent the interengaged frame members from disengaging, a lock element is associated with a joint between frame members. This lock element is a rotary lock with a trilobal locking surface. Additional locking capability can be provided by a lock ring or collar which surrounds a joint between two frame members and prevents unintentional disengagement.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a building system and in particular to a kitor a set of building components which can be arranged in a variety ofways in order to create structures of various forms or configurations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In particular the invention is concerned with interlocking buildingcomponents of the type described, for example, in patent specificationWO90/04688, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.The building system described in WO90/04688 comprises interlockingbuilding components which are shaped so that they fit together and arelocked in place without the need for mortar or fixing elements such asbolts or the like.

It is a characteristic of such systems that they make use of a keyelement which is locked in place during construction and which holds thecomponents together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a building memberhaving two opposite end regions connected by a neck, wherein the neckhas a cross-section which is trilobal.

The trilobal cross-section is preferably a regular triangle with convexsides. The degree of convexity of the convex side is preferably suchthat if one corner of the neck is placed at the apex of an imaginaryright angle, then the adjacent sides of the triangle form tangents tothe lines defining that right angle.

The two opposite end regions provide shoulders at either end of the neckand may be of rectilinear form. However they are not restricted to beingof such form.

The building system can also included a key element for locking thesystem, the element comprising a wall surrounding an opening, the wallincluding a pair of depending shoulders which extend downwards onopposite sides of the opening by a distance greater than the downwardextent of the wall sections between the shoulders.

The key element is preferably rectilinear in form, with the aperturebeing rectangular. The shoulders extend along two opposite sides of theaperture and the wall sections between the shoulders extend along theother two sides of the opening.

The key element locks two or more interlocked building members togetherby being lowered over a vertical member until it reaches the positionwhere further downward progress is impeded by encountering a transversemember interlocked with the vertical member. In this position, theshoulders extend below the top face of the transverse member and preventdisengagement of the interlocking between the members, other than bylifting the element.

The key element may be made in two pieces, so that it can be put intoposition from either side of the vertical member. The shoulders may beinterrupted along their length to allow transverse members to extendfrom the vertical member along orthogonal axes.

References here to `vertical` and `horizontal` refer to the expectedorientation of the building system members in use. It is howeverpossible for the locking element to be placed over an elongate memberwhich is not truly vertical or which is even horizontal, but theessential elements of the invention will still be present.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a setof building components for assembling a building wall structure, the setcomprising a plurality of horizontal elongate frame members, a pluralityof vertical elongate frame members, which members can be interlocked,with the members crossing one another, to form a rectilinear frame, aplurality of lock members each having two opposite end regions connectedby a neck which has a trilobal cross-section, which lock members can befitted at the places where a vertical member crosses a horizontal memberto lock the members together, and a plurality of filler members whichcan be engaged with one of the horizontal or vertical members to locatein the rectilinear frame, to fill the space within the frame and thus toform a continuous wall structure.

By using a lock member which has a trilobal cross-section, the advantageis obtained that the member can be rotated with the lock membershoulders rotating adjacent a neighbouring surface, without interferingwith the surface. If the trilobal cross-section is a regular triangle,with convex sides, the end position of the lock piece, after twisting,is clearly recognisable, by feel, when one apex of the cross-sectionlocates in a right angle formed between two adjacent blocks. This"location" also prevents the block from unintentional movement after ithas been brought into its locking movement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-5 show sequential steps in the construction of a three-blockstructure built in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section through a lock member in accordance with theinvention, on a larger scale;

FIG. 7 illustrates the movement required of the locking members;

FIGS. 8 to 19 are perspective views of various different building blocksfor use in a structure in accordance with the invention; and

FIGS. 20 to 24 are examples of structures built in accordance with theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-5 show three building blocks 10, 12 and 14. All three blockshave cubic end sections 16 joined by a neck. The neck shape of theblocks 10 and 14 are the same, whereas the neck shape of the block 12,which is a locking member, is different.

The blocks are assembled as shown in FIGS. 1-5. Firstly the neck 20 ofthe block 12 is fitted into the upper half of the neck 18 of the block10. Next the block 14 is introduced from the side, so that the neck 18of that block also fits into the neck 18 of the block 10. The assemblyat this point appears as shown in FIG. 3. To lock this assembly theblock 12 is rotated as indicated by an arrow 22 to produce and to lock acruciform assembly of blocks as shown in FIG. 5.

The locking block 12 is shown in cross-section in FIG. 6, on a largerscale and it will be seen that the neck 20 has a generally triangularshape, with one apex of the triangle coincident with one corner of thecubic body 16. If the visible face of the cubic end section 16 isdivided into four equal squares, then the other apices 26, 28 will fallon lines defining the four equal areas. The contour of the sides 30joining the apices is not critical, but if the sides are convex asshown, with the sides 30, 32 forming tangents to the faces 36, 38 at thecorner 40 then a particularly smooth action is obtained when the lockingblock 12 is rotated as indicated by the arrow 22.

The use of a triangular neck 20 means that the centre of rotation of theblock 12 moves relative to adjacent blocks as rotation takes place. Thisis of particular advantage when a locking block 12 is used in a largerassembly (for example one of the assemblies shown in specificationWO90/04688).

In FIG. 7 a locking block 12 is shown with its neck received in a recessbounded on three sides by walls of a block 40 and on a fourth side by asurface of a block 42. A dot 44 indicates the centre of the space inwhich the neck is received. For the block 12 to complete 90° of rotationin the direction indicated by the arrow 22, it is necessary for thecorner 46 of the block to pass the surface 48. This can only be achievedif the distance `b` is equal to or less than the distance `a`. A studyof the geometry of the blocks will show that this is not in fact thecase. When the centre of rotation 44 is in the centre of the spacebounded by the blocks 40 and 42, then the distance `b` is greater thanthe distance `a`, and the block 12 cannot rotate to thedesired-position.

However by using a triangular neck 20, the centre of rotation 44 doesnot stay in one place as rotation continues. The locus of the centre ofrotation will actually be along a complex path surrounding the point 44.The distance of this path from the surface 48 will be greater than thedistance `b`. At the same time however all three apices of the neck 20will remain in contact with the walls of the recess so that the lockingblock 12 will be positively located in the recess.

Rotation of the locking block 12 can be carried out manually in thesmallest structures, or by machine in larger structures. Furthermore,the rotation can be triggered remotely where necessary, for example inundersea structures.

Various structures can be built in accordance with the invention, withvarious shapes of blocks, with the assembly of blocks being completed ineach case by a locking block 12. The final stages of assembly of a fullstructure require a block arrangement based on that shown in FIGS. 1 to7 to lock the assembled structure in position. Some of the differentstructures which can be achieved will be described with reference toFIGS. 8-24.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a short, vertical support 50 with horizontalshoulders 52a, b, c, d. The shoulders 52a, b, c, d can take a number ofdifferent forms. In FIG. 8 a shoulder 52a extends from one face only ofthe generally rectangular support 50; the shoulder 52b extends fromthree faces of the support; the shoulder 52c extends from two faces andthe shoulder 52d extends from four faces. The vertical support 50 can beof any length and can have any number and any combination of shoulders52a, b, c, d mounted along its length. The spacing between the shoulderswill generally be equal to or a multiple of the vertical dimension ofthe shoulders 52a, b, c, d.

FIG. 10 shows a block with two shoulders 52b. This block has flush ends.

It is blocks of the type shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 (and similar blockswhich are vertically extended) which form the vertical skeleton of astructure. An example of a vertically extended block 150 is shown inFIG. 17 with shoulders 152a.

The vertical building blocks are interconnected by horizontal formers,one of which 54 is shown in FIG. 16. However a block 150 shown in thevertical orientation in FIG. 17 can also be used in the horizontalorientation to interconnect vertical blocks. It will be apparent thatthe recesses 56, 156 will engage around the vertical support 50, in amanner which will become apparent from the assembly drawings of FIGS.20-24.

In order to close the interstices formed in a skeleton of vertical andhorizontal blocks, wall blocks are used and two different wall blocksare shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The block 58 of FIG. 11 is designed torest upon and to be supported by horizontal blocks such as the block 54.These blocks have a hooked edge at 60 for resting on the horizontalblock.

An alternative wall block is shown at 62 in FIG. 12. This block is atongue and groove type of block which engages over or around horizontalblocks to close off the interstices between the horizontal and verticalblocks.

Ring locks as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 can be used to securecomponents together. The basic ring lock 64 shown in FIG. 13 has acentral aperture 66, the size of which is slightly larger than that ofthe shoulder 52b. The ring lock 64 can therefore be lowered over avertical member with shoulders 52b until the support faces 68 rest on ahorizontal block. This type of block arrangement can be seenparticularly in FIGS. 23 and 24 and will be described later. The sideflanges 70 of the block then prevent lateral movement between ahorizontal and vertical block.

The block 164 shown in FIG. 14 is similar to the block 64 but hasadditional cut outs at 172 to lock onto cross beams.

The ring lock 264 shown in FIG. 15 is the same shape as the lock 64shown in FIG. 13, but is made in two parts so that it can be appliedfrom either side of a vertical block, rather than being dropped over thetop of the block.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show two combination blocks where a ring lock section364 is permanently connected to a horizontal block 154. The ring lockhas one side (the side facing outwards in the drawing) which has arecess 372 corresponding to the recess 172 of FIG. 14. In this recessthe end of the horizontal block 154 is permanently mounted. On the otherside the ring lock 364 has a plain shoulder 370. The horizontal blocksection 154 has an end recess 156 corresponding to the recesses 56 ofthe block shown in FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 shows a development of the block shown in FIG. 18, where thering lock 464 now has horizontal block sections 154 extending from bothsides.

In use, an array of vertical blocks 550 is arranged side by side asshown in FIG. 20. The blocks can each be the full height of the assemblyas shown at 550a and 550b, or they can be made up from two or moresmaller height blocks as shown in the support columns 550c, 550d, 550e,550f and 550g. In this example the blocks all have eight shoulders ofthe type shown at 52b in FIG. 8.

The blocks 550, and indeed all the building members which form part ofthe building system of the invention, can be made in solid form or canbe hollow. It is possible for hollow blocks to be collapsed to a flatform for transport and storage but to be opened out and erected to theirthree-dimensional form for use. When built into a building structure,these unfolded blocks will be retained in their erected position by thesurrounding blocks.

The blocks are connected to one another by horizontal block 554. It willbe seen that the upper block 554a is continuous over the full width ofthe array whilst the lower horizontal block consists of two sections554b and 554c. The fact that the lower horizontal beam is discontinuousdoes not matter, provided that the discontinuity is bridged by acontinuous section of the other horizontal block or blocks.

FIG. 21 shows how the horizontal and vertical members inter-engage.

When the members are inter-engaged in this way they are interlocked,however they can still be disengaged by a sideways movement of either avertical or horizontal block. To avoid this happening the blocks can belocked by a ring lock 64, as shown in FIG. 22. The horizontal block 654is offered up laterally to the vertical block 650 so thatinter-engagement takes place in the manner shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. Toretain engagement, the ring lock 64 is dropped over the top of thevertical block 650, and drops down until the support surfaces of thering lock rest on the upper surface of the horizontal block 654. At thispoint the side shoulders 70 of the ring lock prevent disengagement ofthe vertical blocks, and disengagement can only take place after thering lock 64 is lifted again.

FIGS. 23 and 24 show the use of ring lock structures as shown in FIGS.18 and 19. The manner of assembly of these structures will be apparentfrom the reference numerals employed which correspond to referencenumerals used in earlier drawings.

Although the shoulders 52 on the vertical blocks and the edges of therecesses in the horizontal blocks are shown as being rectilinear andstrictly at right angles to the axis of the respective block on whichthey appear, this is not an essential feature and the various edges ofthe blocks can be rounded or chamfered. The opposing faces of shouldersand/or recesses may be tapered to assist lead-in of joints and tofacilitate manufacture of the blocks.

By use of the triangular section neck it is therefore possible for awide variety of different building block structures to be locked inplace by a rotary action of a rotary locking block.

I claim:
 1. A building member having two opposite end regions connectedby a neck, the neck having a cross-section which is a regular trianglewith three convex sides; the sides meeting at apices which define threecorners of the neck; andwherein the degree of convexity of two adjacentconvex sides is such that if one corner of the neck is placed at an apexof an imaginary right angle, then the two adjacent convex sides of thetriangle form tangents to lines defining that right angle.
 2. A buildingmember as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two opposite end regionsprovide shoulders at either end of the neck and are of rectilinear form.3. A building system incorporating a plurality of building members asclaimed in claim 1, and a plurality of building blocks the blocks havingnecks receiving the necks of the building members such that the blocksand the building members are locked together.
 4. A building system asclaimed in claim 3, including a plurality of key elements, each of thekey elements comprising a wall surrounding an opening, the wallincluding a pair of depending shoulders which extend downwards onopposite sides of the opening by a distance greater than the downwardextent of the wall sections between the shoulders.
 5. A building systemas claimed in claim 4, wherein the key element is rectilinear in form,with the opening being rectangular.
 6. A building system as claimed inclaim 5, wherein the shoulders of the key element extend along twoopposite sides of the opening and wall sections which are definedbetween the shoulders extend along the other two sides of the opening.7. A building system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the key element ismade in two pieces.